James "Jake" Gilbreath

Managing Partner

I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was a little kid. I had no idea
that I would be representing families across the state of Texas in difficult
and emotional divorces.

Where did I start to get here? Not where you’d think. I was raised
in Waxahachie, Texas, a small town south of Dallas. To be perfectly honest,
I was born in Wisconsin, but I came to Texas as soon as I could when I
was three years old. I am one of seven children – five natural born
and two adopted brothers. Both my parents bleed Aggie maroon (although
only one of their children went to A&M). My dad was a veterinarian
and owned his own practice and my mom a homemaker in charge of the seven
children. I am the only lawyer in my family.

I attended the University of Texas School of Law after completing my undergraduate
degree from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. At UT
Law, I immediately figured out that my personality would fit best in a
courtroom, not a downtown big firm office. My third year of law school,
I focused on litigation and worked as a student attorney at the University
of Texas Domestic Violence Clinic. At the end of my time in law school,
I took a job at a boutique, high-end family law litigation firm, where
I would spend the first five years of my career.

Since getting out of law school at the University of Texas School of Law,
I’ve learned a lot professionally and I’ve learned a lot personally.

Personally, I got married right after law school and later my then wife
gave birth to my son Parker, who I love with all my heart. But when Parker
was just a little baby, his mom and I went through a divorce. At the time
of my divorce, I had represented hundreds of clients through their own
divorces and it was becoming second nature to me. My own divorce changed
all that. It was hard on me. It was hard on my ex-wife. I’m sure
it was hard for my son. But we got through it, and I’m grateful
for the lessons I learned in my own divorce and how I can apply them to
my clients’ lives.

My divorce was finalized in 2015. But that wasn’t the hardest thing
I would face that year. Just a couple months after my divorce was completed,
my father passed away unexpectedly at the age of 60. He died at the veterinarian
clinic, which is where you would always find him if he wasn’t at
church or with his family.

Getting that phone call was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through
in my life but it made me a better person, a better lawyer, and a better
father to my children.

Professionally, I’ve learned what my father always taught me about
running his own business –never work for anyone else and do it your own way.

I’ve worked for traditional and elitist law firms. I’ve been
in the corner office. I’ve tried cases where the lawyers bring boxes
upon boxes of paper that never see the light of day in a courtroom. And
I can tell you after all of my experience that everyone is doing it wrong.

The traditional law firm relies on paper, servers, and fax machines. The
law firm clunks around, clients do not know what is going on with their
case, and cases have to settle for bad deals before Court because the
lawyers are either unprepared for what happens at the courthouse or are
unaware of what happens at the courthouse.

Brian and I do things differently. We’re paperless, in the cloud,
and efficient. We will never be the cheapest lawyers in town. In fact,
our product is anything but cheap. But we offer high-end service in a
way that makes sense. Our approach is newer, different, and better.

Today I sit here as a proud business owner and a proud father. I have remarried
and my wife just gave birth to my second child, Harper. Harper and Parker
are the love of my life and everything I do, I do for them, just like
my parents did for me. I am proud to be partners with Brian and proud
to be here and available for my clients as a trusted and unmatched advocate.

I am a family lawyer litigator. I am Board Certified in Family Law by the
Texas Board of Legal Specialization and I have an Avvo Rating of 10.0
Superb with 50 five-star reviews. I have been selected for inclusion in the
Super Lawyers® Rising Stars? list and I am frequently asked to serve as a guest speaker on various
family law and litigation matters, with a particular focus on trial work
and jury trials. I try more cases each year to judges, arbitrators, and
juries than a vast majority of my peers and I do it different and better.

Better approach and better results are what we do here, and it is what
we will do for you and your family.

Dallas

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